This invention relates to a protective helmet assembly for use in military and other applications requiring protection of the head against ballistic impacts.
There has previously been disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,784,984 and 3,789,427, both issued to Jackson A. Aileo, a protective helmet assembly having a flexible inner helmet and a rigid outer assembly. The flexible inner assembly comprises a fabric envelope designed to fit over a wearer's head and having a plurality of pockets for receiving pads of bump resistant impact-absorbing material. The fabric envelope is also fitted with at least one rigid earcup, used either for sound attenuation or for communications or both. An outer hard and rigid ballistic shell is provided for use over the inner helmet assembly where ballistic protection is required. The provision of the fabric envelope with pad receiving pockets permits the construction of a helmet assembly which, while flexible and adjustable to the head of the individual wearer, affords impact protection against bumps even without the use of a ballistic shell.
While this arrangement has proved to be advantageous, it has not completely solved the problems inherent in the prior art. In part, these problems arise from the design of the outer ballistic shell, the use of which is still necessary in certain applications. Since the flexible inner helmet assembly accommodates a range of head sizes, the outer assembly is necessarily made somewhat large to accommodate the largest head sizes, adding to its bulk and weight. It has also been found that the outer ballistic shell interferes in certain applications requiring close proximity between the wearer's face and the equipment he is working with, such as a gunsight. In order to use such equipment, the operator must remove the outer shell, increasing his risk of injury from missiles and the like.
Another problem inherent in the prior art involves the design of an unobtrusive, yet effective microphone for two-way voice communication. Prior art arrangements using a boom or similar assembly to place the microphone in front of the mouth lead to the problems referred to earlier when the wearer is working in close facial proximity to equipment. Previous attempts to place the microphone within the earcup have resulted in feedback between the microphone and the adjacent earphone.